In
my dealing with Christians, I have encountered a way of Christian thinking
that deserves its own category. Oh, we’ve all encountered it and many
of us have been taught by ministers or other Christians that this is the way
we should be in our spiritual walk with God:
I call it “Sin Obsession”. Christians obsessed with pointing out
and eradicating sin from their lives as well as everyone else’s.

I
also call Christians obsessed with sin,“Bug Hunters” because of
the never-ending search with bright lights and magnifying glasses to unveil
sin in every corner of our society. Christians who see sin in EVERYTHING see
sin in television, movies, music, magazines, school, work and of course the
favorite place to find sin…in people: politicians, celebrities, friends,
enemies, relatives, and yes…even themselves. We're ALL guilty of this.

As
GLBT people, we have encountered finger pointing at us and have seen attempts
to make us into loathsome unrepentant sinners undeserving of redemption.

Oh,
that doesn’t mean that I don’t believe that there is sin everywhere.
There is. But this is the way of the world. We know this already. Satan is
the ruler of the Earth. Until we are called home to be with the Lord…this
is our condition. It is to be expected.

Grant
you I understand the good intention of Christians who live like this. As GLBT
Christians ourselves, we need to look inward to see and understand sin in
our lives so we can walk a more spiritual walk with God. By looking for sin
within us, we become aware of how we are failing God, other people and ourselves
and can repent and improve our way of living.
And remember, sin is an act done without love against God, someone else or
ourself. Even the Ten Commandments were commanded so we would love God and
treat our neighbors with respect. But some people magnify sin where suddenly
everything from overeating to listening to non-Christian music has become
a major sin. Yet being friendly to your next-door neighbor is all but ignored.

But
if “Sin Obsession” becomes our focus, it can adversely affect
our spiritual lives in an unhealthy way. We all believe that if a sin is uncovered,
we need to acknowledge it, repent and ask God for forgiveness with a promise
and a request for help.
But the gap between this normal and reflective way of Christian living and
the obsessed nature of Bug Hunters is very wide.

Bug
Hunters have their own philosophy about sin.
There is a belief to many that IF we do not pinpoint every sin around us that
it will grab us and take us spiraling into the abyss of hell, which is why
we see some Fundamentalist Christians go nuts when they think that sin is
infiltrating into their world.
And I heartily agree that if gone unchecked, sin can overtake us and ruin
our lives and others.

As
GLBT Christians, we see the Fundamentalist Right panicking that gay marriage
will unravel the bedrock of society. (I guess melodramatics can also be a
characteristic of Bug Hunters).
Many will say that we are not repentant for being GLBT therefore our sins
are not forgiven. It seems they have all the answers to what is going on between
my Savior and me. Thankfully, God sees what is in my heart.

One
problem with Christians who are obsessed with sin, is that our LIFE CENTERS
AROUND SIN. Our spiritual life isn’t about Jesus, the goodness of people,
loving our neighbor, showing love and compassion…it becomes all about
finding and attacking SIN.
All other aspects of Christian living take a backseat in the pursuit of fault
finding and pointing fingers. And once accusing occurs, all hell breaks loose.
By pointing the fingers at everyone, saying “you’re sinning and
you’re sinning”, then you actually get people to think that Christianity
is all about SIN. It is not.
Christianity is about the REDEMPTION of Jesus Christ to save us from sin,
there is a difference.

But
because we have focused on sin, non-Christians who hear this message also
focus on SIN and not about the positive Christian message of love and salvation
that is offered by Jesus Christ.
People now equate Christianity with avoiding sin.
Where comes Christian love? Where comes feeding the hungry?
Where comes the good news of Jesus Christ?

But
there is also the belief that we have to find every single sin and ask for
forgiveness. And many say that if we do not…we will NOT receive forgiveness
and thus grace will NOT be granted. It is very much like returning an empty
soda can for the 5-cent deposit. So, if we miss ONE sin, we will be catapulted
right back to hell.

Another
side effect of being obsessed with sin is that, even though the Lord has forgiven
us by His death on the cross, we can actually have a difficult time accepting
forgiveness for ourselves because of how much power we have given over to
sin. We somehow think that our sin is so grave, it can never be forgiven,
so we are perpetually in a state of guilt and repentance, continuously feeling
sinful, yet never accepting forgiveness. It is difficult for us to accept
God’s grace, which is why we also cannot grant forgiveness to others.

Here then lies the root of our nervousness:
The possibility of losing the grace of Jesus because of unforgiven sin, thus
resulting in possibly losing one’s salvation. So we scramble to find
sin to ensure that no mistakes will be made. If we believe this is the case,
then we must believe that God is a stern, rigid rule keeper who is quick to
wrath and unmerciful if any errors are made.
No wonder we're obsessed with sin.

We
need to understand something about Jesus.
He is not petty like this.
He is not a sin accountant, keeping track of which sins have been confessed
and which ones haven’t. God looks at the heart of every person…not
his or her track record. He hears our cries and knows our hearts.
He proved this through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for ALL of
our sins.
Our past sins, our future sins and even sins we are NOT aware of are forgiven
us when we have faith in Christ.
Jesus died on the cross because we are by nature sinful and He did it to purify
us so we can be free to fellowship with God.
And God is not an unmoving tyrant, but a loving and compassionate God who
loved the world so much, He sent His Son as a sacrifice for us, so we could
be forgiven of our sin.

The
point of asking for forgiveness is NOT so we can do anything we want and selfishly
receive grace. Jesus has already granted grace to us by His death on the cross.
As a Christian, the point of asking for forgiveness from God is humility and
sorrow for our sin and how it has caused pain to others and us. This is important
for our spiritual walk with God, but it does not affect our salvation. We
are in God’s family for good. We have no fear of losing our salvation
because when He said, “It is finished” it is truly finished.
And because we believe that our salvation is based on faith and not by anything
we do, we know that God will never leave us. By His death on the cross, we
are saved through faith in Christ. So our scrambling to try to catch every
sin…doesn’t affect our salvation.

So
when we do sin? Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t fall into a depression.
Don’t vow a thousand vows to never sin again. By dwelling on your sin,
you give it power over you and Satan then has successfully trapped you into
staying stuck in them. Jesus is victorious and has freed you so you can be
a rejoicing Christian, not one who is guilt-ridden with a cloud of failure
hanging over your head.

Confess
your sins to God and learn from them. Understand the ramifications of your
sin and seek to do better next time with the help from the Holy Spirit. And
believe that He has forgiven you and rejoice that He has granted you His love
and grace through His Son.

Instead
of being insecure about our place with God, we can relax and be assured that
we have received the PROMISE of Jesus Christ who has forgiven us our sins.
By living in the Holy Spirit, we naturally live a life of love for God and
the fruits of the Spirit manifest through us.

Yes,
we will still have sin in this life and will always need to ask God for forgiveness
in sincerity and humbleness, knowing He is faithful to forgive us because
He loves us.
We rejoice and live a confident, positive, and fearless life for God, not
worried or distracted by the sins of the world.
He doesn’t desire for us to dwell on our sins, but to live VICTORIOUSLY
spreading the good news of His salvation from them.